Harlan W. Butt
Harlan Butt
Shenandoah (National Parks Series)
2023
Copper, enamel
17" x 14" x 6"
$9,000
"The surface imagery on Shenandoah #4 was created from photographs taken at the National Park. The photos of foliage were then transferred to Photoshop and turned into high contrast black and white digital images. These, in turn, were loaded onto the Critcut CNC cutting machine and stencils were cut out of heavy paper. The stencils were placed over the vessel (which had a previously fired enamel surface) and more enamel was sifted on using a binder to hold it in place. The piece was then fired. This stencil process was repeated several times in various colors."
Harlan Butt
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"
$8,000
Harlan
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"
$8,000
Harlan Butt
Colorado Vessel #2
Copper, enamel, bronze, silver. Cast longhorn sheep, etched haiku.
5.5" x 5" x 5"
$3,00
"As an artist working in metal and enamel and writing haiku poetry, I have formed vessels which reflect themes, colors, textures and the beauty, severity and mystery of the natural world. The Earth, its plants and animals, geography and landscape, inspire me to create and to try to convey some of the emotional response to being present in wilderness."
How much should we take?
And what should we leave behind?
Have we gone too far?
Harlan Butt
ON FIRE
Enameled copper vessel, silver foil appliqué, stencil and fabrication in gold plated silver Engraved with the words: “Run my brothers run, Flee you sisters and mothers, Our world is on fire”
6" x 6" x 6"
Harlan Butt
Earth Beneath Our Feet: Texas Horizon #2
Enamel, silver, 14K gold
4" x 6" x 6"
"In the quiet, windless woods;
Pale light and patterns,
Alone here at dusk"
Harlan Butt
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5″ x 8″ x 8″
Harlan
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5″ x 8″ x 8″
Harlan Butt
Colorado Vessel #2
Copper, enamel, bronze, silver. Cast longhorn sheep, etched haiku.
5.5″ x 5″ x 5″
Harlan Butt
ON FIRE
Enameled copper vessel, silver foil appliqué, stencil and fabrication in gold plated silver Engraved with the words: “Run my brothers run, Flee you sisters and mothers, Our world is on fire”
- IMAGES:
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Harlan Butt
Shenandoah (National Parks Series)
2023
Copper, enamel
17" x 14" x 6"$9,000
"The surface imagery on Shenandoah #4 was created from photographs taken at the National Park. The photos of foliage were then transferred to Photoshop and turned into high contrast black and white digital images. These, in turn, were loaded onto the Critcut CNC cutting machine and stencils were cut out of heavy paper. The stencils were placed over the vessel (which had a previously fired enamel surface) and more enamel was sifted on using a binder to hold it in place. The piece was then fired. This stencil process was repeated several times in various colors."
Harlan Butt
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"$8,000
Harlan
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"$8,000
![Butt_Colorado-Vessel-2]( "Butt_Colorado-Vessel-2")
Harlan Butt
Colorado Vessel #2
Copper, enamel, bronze, silver. Cast longhorn sheep, etched haiku.
5.5" x 5" x 5"$3,00
"As an artist working in metal and enamel and writing haiku poetry, I have formed vessels which reflect themes, colors, textures and the beauty, severity and mystery of the natural world. The Earth, its plants and animals, geography and landscape, inspire me to create and to try to convey some of the emotional response to being present in wilderness."
How much should we take?
And what should we leave behind?
Have we gone too far?![Screenshot-2024-03-21-at-1.31.19 PM]( "Screenshot-2024-03-21-at-1.31.19 PM")
![Butt_On Fire Vessel.jpg]( "Butt_On Fire Vessel.jpg")
Harlan Butt
ON FIRE
Enameled copper vessel, silver foil appliqué, stencil and fabrication in gold plated silver Engraved with the words: “Run my brothers run, Flee you sisters and mothers, Our world is on fire”
6" x 6" x 6"
![ButtH_EarthBeneathOurFeetTexasHorizon2_w.jpg]( "ButtH_EarthBeneathOurFeetTexasHorizon2_w.jpg")
Harlan Butt
Earth Beneath Our Feet: Texas Horizon #2
Enamel, silver, 14K gold
4" x 6" x 6"
"In the quiet, windless woods;
Pale light and patterns,
Alone here at dusk"
Harlan Butt
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"
$8,000
Harlan
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5" x 8" x 8"
$8,000
Harlan Butt
Colorado Vessel #2
Copper, enamel, bronze, silver. Cast longhorn sheep, etched haiku.
5.5" x 5" x 5"
$3,00
Harlan Butt
ON FIRE
Enameled copper vessel, silver foil appliqué, stencil and fabrication in gold plated silver Engraved with the words: “Run my brothers run, Flee you sisters and mothers, Our world is on fire”
6" x 6" x 6"
Harlan Butt
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5″ x 8″ x 8″
Harlan
Extinction Vessel #9: Genocide (Extinction Series)
2023
Copper, enamel, silver
7.5″ x 8″ x 8″
Harlan Butt
Colorado Vessel #2
Copper, enamel, bronze, silver. Cast longhorn sheep, etched haiku.
5.5″ x 5″ x 5″
Harlan Butt
ON FIRE
Enameled copper vessel, silver foil appliqué, stencil and fabrication in gold plated silver Engraved with the words: “Run my brothers run, Flee you sisters and mothers, Our world is on fire”
HARLAN BUTT
b. United States
A past President of the Enamelist Society, President-Elect of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, Fellow of the American Crafts Council and a Regents Professor of Art at the University of North Texas, Harlan W. Butt crafts incredible vessels in metal and enamel that capture the spirit of a specific environment. Many of the vessels are covered in cloisonné enamel, bear lines of poetry written by the artist, and are inspired byelements from the natural world: leaves, twigs, acorns and other souvenirs of time and place.
“As an artist working in metal and enamel and writing haiku poetry, I have created vessels, which reflect themes, colors, textures and the beauty, severity and mystery of the natural world. The Earth, its plants and animals, geography and landscape, inspire me to create and to try to convey some of the emotional response to being present in wilderness. My ‘Extinction Vessels’ comment on the vanishing wildlife from the planet caused by humans. My ‘Environment Vessels’ comment on how we interact with the planet. I am also interested in the stories we have told ourselves throughout history in an attempt to give meaning to our journey.”
As they slip away,
The web is unraveling,
Thread by knot by thread.
Harlan W. Butt
2023
“Harlan W. Butt is considered one of the world’s premier contemporary enamelists, having appeared in dozens of exhibitions and having his artwork added to numerous private and public collections over the span of his forty-year career. As an enamelist who melds time-honored techniques such as cloisonné, Limoges painting, and other processes, Butt has transformed expectations of the medium. ”
– Cindi Strauss, Sara and Bill Morgan Curator of Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (From exhibition catalog Extraordinary journey: 40 Years of Art Metalwork by Harlan W. Butt)
Selected Collections
- Mint Museum of Fine Arts, Charlotte, NC
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
- National Gallery of Australia
- National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis, TN
- Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
- Numerous private collections throughout the United States and internationally